


his lips on your lips on my lips

by ObscureReference



Series: Practice Makes Perfect [2]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Kissing, M/M, Makeouts, Other, References to more than makeouts but nothing stated explicitly, poor communication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-04 03:13:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5318288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObscureReference/pseuds/ObscureReference
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The door swung open and before Dex was even fully in view, Nursey stuck his foot in the doorway and announced, "I'm a great kisser."</p><p>Sequel to Practice Makes Perfect. You should read that first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	his lips on your lips on my lips

**Author's Note:**

> Definitely read Practice Makes Perfect first or you'll be missing some stuff. 
> 
> I felt kind of weird about some parts of this, but I also think part of it might be in my own head, so I'm posting it anyway. But there are some notes at the end where I talk about what I don't like if you wanna read that. It's not necessary at all.
> 
> Everyone should communicate more.

The door swung open and before Dex was even fully in view, Nursey stuck his foot in the doorway and announced, "I'm a great kisser."

Dex pulled a face like he'd just eaten something sour. It was very similar to the face he usually made when Nursey was involved.

"What?"

"The other night," Nursey said, stepping closer. He stood in the arch of the doorway now. There was no way Dex could just slam the door on him this time. "You ran away because you thought I was a bad kisser. But I'm not."

"When did I say you were a bad kisser?" Dex asked hotly, like Nursey was the one looking for a fight. Maybe they both were. Nursey shrugged.

"You didn't have to."

It wasn't hard to put together. Unless he was wrong— and Nursey was pretty sure he was right— Dex seemed to be enjoying himself during their date. When he rolled his eyes at Nursey's gibes, it was more friendly than it had been before. He only told Nursey to shut up twice the whole night. He hadn't even pulled away when Nursey stood a little closer than normal on the walk back. It wasn't until they got to Dex's dorm that he'd suddenly tensed up and found an arbitrary excuse to run inside.

Because he didn't want to kiss Nursey. Because he thought Nursey was a bad kisser.

Well, Dex was about to be proven dead wrong. 

"Don't put words in my mouth," Dex spat. "Even though you're probably horrendous."

"I'm not a bad kisser," Nursey repeated. "And I can prove it."

"Are you telling me you ran all the way here—" Dex glanced at his phone before shoving it back in his pocket. "Twenty minutes before my next class so you could prove you weren't a _bad kisser_?" Dex's voice was dripping with exasperation by the end.

"Yeah," Nursey said. He liked Dex like this, liked teasing him until he was all hot and bothered and rearing for a fight. "Unless you're chicken."

Dex snorted, rolling his eyes. "What are we, twelve?"

But he grabbed Nursey by the collar and pulled him into the room anyway, with a quick "Get in here." The door shut behind him.

It was lucky that Nursey had chosen to find Dex while still riding his high from kissing Chowder, because he was pretty sure that was the only reason he was able to keep his cool when Dex slammed him against the back of the door. Nursey was really glad he had chosen to practice beforehand. It helped him stay relaxed when Dex's mouth roughly collided with his own.

Dex kissed almost like he had never kissed anyone before, which was an absurd thought. Nursey chalked it up as a win that he could make Dex lose his cool like that. Dex kissed roughly, all fire and unused energy, nipping at his lower lip. It sent sparks across Nursey's skin.

With the door creating a solid wall behind him, it was Dex who had to pull back.

"How was that for a first kiss?" Nursey asked before Dex could get a word in edgewise. Dex released his collar, and Nursey made a show of straightening out his shirt, rubbing it in that it was _Dex_ who couldn't keep his hands to himself. Judging by his face, Dex got the message.

"Adequate," Dex gave him. He readjusted the strap on his backpack. "Now would you move or can I get to class?"

"Are you sure you don't want me to show you some more proof?"

Dex pressed his hand against Nursey's cheek and shoved. There wasn't much force behind it, but Nursey moved to the side anyway. He followed Dex out the door.

"Would you allow me the honor of escorting you to class, my love?" Nursey added the extra flare to his voice just to watch Dex's face heat up. If the high from practicing with Chowder was one thing, it was truly something else when combined with the high of kissing Dex. If he could bottle up the feeling and save it, he would score a million goals at any game of the year.

"Fine," Dex allowed, locking the door. He didn't look as reluctant as he sounded. "But if you start reading poetry or something, I'll never go out with you again."

He fumbled with the last part, like he wasn't used to using dates as threats. Thinking back on it, he probably wasn't. Nursey grinned back at him, all teeth.

"Deal."

Score one for Derek Nurse.

\----------

"Are you freaking out?" Chowder asked.

Dex blew all the air in his lungs out through his mouth harshly. "I'm _not_ freaking out."

"It kind of looks like you're freaking out."

"I'm _not_."

"Okay, but if you _were_ freaking out, why would you?"

"Because Nursey kissed me!" Dex all but shouted.

Chowder frowned.

"I'm sorry?" He said tentatively. "I thought that was the goal?"

Dex sighed. Suddenly this was all very similar to two nights ago. This whole conversation felt like an echo of their previous one. They were even in Chowder's room again.

"Kind of," Dex admitted. "But he was _good_. Better than I expected. And now that we've kissed once, he's going to want to do it _again_ and it's going to be even more obvious that he's a lot more experienced than I am. I'm pretty sure he was already on to me earlier."

"Being experienced isn't everything," Chowder said. "Everybody has a different way of doing things. Maybe you should just come clean and learn together. Then you wouldn't be freaking out."

" _I'm not freaking out_ ," Dex repeated in a very clear tone which indicated he was, in fact, freaking out. He stifled another sigh and looked away.

Chowder didn't offer any advice either. Dex wasn't sure what he would have expected him to say. Mostly he had stopped by to vent. He wasn't sure when Chowder had become his pseudo-therapist, but he had to admit it felt easier talking through his problems than endlessly trying to ignore all thoughts of Nursey and his stupid kissable lips on his own.

Samwell's freshman dorms weren't particularly large, but Dex made the most of the cramped spaced while he paced. Chowder watched him from the bed, twirling a green highlighter between his fingers. Once again, he had stopped studying to help Dex with his relationship problems. He couldn't help but feel a little bad about that, not that Chowder would have ever complained.

"I just wish I could be better than him without having to reveal that he's better," Dex said.

Chowder glanced at him. "What, like practice some more?"

Dex considered it. "Maybe."

"I'm not really sure that's a good idea," Chowder said, frowning. The highlighter fell from his fingers and dropped between the pages of the book in his lap. "I mean, it was one thing to practice when you guys had only gone on one date, but if you guys are really going steady, isn't that kind of like cheating?"

 _Going steady_ was the kind of term Dex expected to hear from his grandmother, but Chowder had a point. Dex frowned.

"I guess you're right," he allowed. "But what am I supposed to do?"

Chowder shrugged. The bed sheets crinkled under his fingertips when he leaned back on his bed. "You know you guys could try actually talking to each other, right?"

"If I do _that_ ," Dex said slowly. "Then I'll have to admit defeat."

"When did this become a competition?" Chowder asked. Dex ignored him. "Do you at least want to sit down? You've been pacing this whole time. Maybe you should take a break."

"What, am I making you dizzy?"

"A little."

Dex sighed but did as he was asked. He sat on the end of Chowder's bed in such a heap that the whole mattress bounced, and Chowder's book nearly fell out of his lap, highlighter and all. The end of the bed dipped significantly under Dex's weight. He could see the head of the bed was faring only slightly better under Chowder. Freshman dorms really weren't meant to accommodate athletes.

"See?" Chowder said. "Now take a breath and clear your head. You should focus a lot easier now."

Dex _did_ focus, but it wasn't on what he wanted. Without thinking about it, his eyes narrowed in on Chowder's mouth rather than his problem with Nursey. Now that they were so close again, Dex was reminded of the last time he sat on Chowder's bed. He wondered if Chowder had gotten any chapstick in the meantime. Judging by the way he ran his tongue over his bottom lip, probably not.

Kissing Nursey had made Dex flush down to the tips of his toes, and yet here Dex was, thinking of the way Chowder's mouth had moved against his own, warm and sweet. He forced himself to look a way, a dissatisfied noise creeping out of his throat without his permission.

"Did you come to a decision?" Chowder asked, taking the sound to mean something better than it did. He leaned forward as though that might somehow coax the answer from Dex any quicker.

Dex tried to nonchalantly twist away. Rather than respond, he gave a vague hum.

"So you'll talk to Nursey?"

A beat passed.

"I guess," Dex relented, but he focused too much on the way Chowder's lips curved with his smile to really register his cries of success.

Dex was starting to think he had a bigger problem than whether or not he was a better kisser than Nursey.

\----------

Dex had asked to meet Nursey outside of the Haus. If Nursey got there a little early, it definitely wasn't because he was eager or anything.

When Dex finally trudged around the corner, sullen and sour faced, Nursey thought he was going to say something. He didn't. Dex stood there, a battle going on behind his eyes for almost two minutes before Nursey swallowed the uneasiness bubbling in his chest long enough to say, "Something you wanna tell me, Poindexter?"

Nonchalantly, of course.

Rather than verbally answer, Dex had grabbed him by the collar instead.

And now they were making out against the side of the Haus. Not that Nursey was complaining.

But something nagged at the corner of his mind. Something he had ignored the first time Dex had grabbed him and briefly kissed him. But now that they were at a more leisurely pace, Nursey had plenty of time to analyze it.

It was the way Dex moved, how he held himself. How he always seemed a few seconds behind whenever Nursey did something new, movements unsure. A thought formed in the back of Nursey's head.

After a moment of (pretty sweet) kissing, Nursey reluctantly opened his eyes and separated himself from Dex. He kept his hands pressed against the wood, just above Dex's shoulders, boxing him in. It was so he could keep close more than anything else. He was sure Dex would have no problem escaping if he really wanted.   
  
Dex looked at him, lips red and wet, his breathing labored. It was a good look for him, especially when the breeze ruffled his hair. Nursey opened his mouth.   
  
"Have you kissed anyone before?"  
  
Dex pursed his lips, obviously incredulous Nursey stopped what they were doing to ask _that_. "I kissed _you_ , didn't I?" He shot back.   
  
Nursey shrugged easily. "Besides me."  
  
"Why are you asking?"  
  
"It's just a question."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Yes, what?"  
  
" _Yes_ , I've kissed people besides you."  
  
Nursey tilted his head, merely looking. Either Dex was lying or his idea of kissing was a peck on the mouth.   
  
"Who?" Nursey asked.   
  
"People."  
  
"People I know?"  
  
"None of your business."  
  
"Recently?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"How recently?"  
  
"The other day."  
  
That made Nursey's smirk drop. The giddy feeling in his stomach transformed into something hard.

He thought he'd caught Dex in a funny lie. He thought they were going to have a few laughs about Dex's lack of experience and then get back to business. He _thought_ Dex would say his last kiss was in high school or middle school. The start of the year, even. Not "the other day."  
  
The other day, Dex had kissed Nursey against the back of his bedroom door.   
  
The other day, Dex had kissed someone else.   
  
"Who?" Nursey repeated, the teasing gone from his voice. The way Dex's face twisted said he noticed.   
  
"Does it matter?"  
  
"No," Nursey said instantly, too defensive.   
  
A beat passed. Dex looked past his face.   
  
"Was it your first kiss?" Nursey asked.  
  
"No," Dex said. But he had hesitated.   
  
So Dex had his first kiss the other day with someone who wasn't Nursey.   
  
Maybe he was dwelling on it too much. They had only been on one date after all. They hadn't said they were exclusive yet or anything.   
  
But he had thought...  
  
_Do you like me?_ Nursey thought suddenly, childishly. He couldn't help it. He might as well have broken out a bouquet and started picking petals all over again.   
  
"It was Chowder," Dex said suddenly. He waited, tense, for Nursey's response. Nursey saw the way his shoulders tightened.    
  
_Oh_ , Nursey thought. The lead weight in his stomach lightened. That changed everything. He relaxed the fist he hadn't realized he had clenched, no longer nervous.   
  
"Oh."  
  
"Oh?" Dex mimicked. "What does _oh_ mean?"  
  
"It means, _oh_." Nursey paused, taking in Dex's face. He wondered how many freckles he had on his cheeks alone. "Were you guys just messing around?"  
  
Dex minutely shifted the weight in his feet. He took a breath, apparently steeling himself.   
  
"I asked him to," Dex said. "He was helping me."  
  
Dex asked Chowder for a kiss. The thought made Nursey grin.  
  
"Why'd you ask?" Nursey said, but the pieces had started to fall into place. "You wanted some experience before you did this with little old me?"  
  
Ding, ding, ding. Dex's sputtering meant he was right on the money.   
  
"Why, Poindexter, I didn't know I was so intimidating," Nursey drawled, leaning close enough for their noses to brush. He fluttered his lashes obnoxiously. Dex rolled his eyes.  
  
Despite the topic of conversation, neither had separated that much when the kissing had stopped. Nursey still had Dex pressed against the side of the Haus, but he was sure Dex would have pushed him to the dirt if he really wanted an escape. He was glad Dex hadn't.  
  
"You're an asshole," Dex said, but there wasn't any heat to it. He looked at Nursey from head to toe. "You're not angry?"  
  
Nursey shrugged. "Nah. That'd be pretty hypocritical of me."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I also kissed Chowder," Nursey admitted.   
  
"What?" Dex repeated, incredulous. "When?"  
  
"Yesterday."  
  
"I kissed him two days ago!" 

Nursey couldn't hold back his laugh. "I guess C has more game than I thought."   
  
"Wait," Dex said quickly. "So Chowder also offered—"

"I _asked_." Nursey corrected.   
  
Dex poked him in the chest, jabbing Nursey with his pointer finger. "Why'd _you_ ask, Mr. High And Mighty?"  
  
Dex was flushed and not from kissing Nursey. Nursey wrapped his hand around Dex's fingers and pulled them away from his chest. He didn't drop Dex's hand once he had, however.   
  
"Chill, man," Nursey said. "I wanted to be sure I wasn't rusty."  
  
Dex looked almost curious when he asked, "And?"  
  
Nursey smirked. "You tell me."  
  
"Shut the hell up," Dex scoffed, rolling his eyes. He blew a huff of air from his mouth. "I can't believe you were gonna get pissed that I kissed Chowder when you did the exact same thing."  
  
"I don't get 'pissed' about anything," Nursey told him. "I just wanted to know what was up."  
  
It wasn't a lie. He probably would have been heartbroken, a little. A lot, maybe. He thought maybe Dex wanted someone else. But Chowder was different. Chowder was okay. 

"Well, now you do," Dex said, giving him a look. He crossed his arms. "So what?"  
  
Nursey raised his hand to Dex's face.  
  
"So now you should tell me," Nursey said, purposely lowering his voice and running his thumb across the underside of Dex's jaw. Dex shivered. "Was he any good?"  
  
"Shut up," Dex muttered. He was already leaning in.   
  
Dex was no less passionate than he had been before they stopped to chat. Nursey grinned into the kiss. Dex's fire wouldn't be dampened for anything.   
  
Though he had been a little serious when he'd asked if Chowder was any good. Nursey knew the answer for himself, of course, having his own firsthand experience. Chowder wasn't half bad. But he wondered if _Dex_ thought so as well. For a first kiss, he wouldn't have had anything to compare it too. But now that Dex had a larger pool of experience, Nursey wondered if Dex would kiss Chowder again. He wished he had seen them. It would have been a sight.  
  
Since they had just been talking about it, it was hard not to think about how Chowder's lips had felt against Nursey's own or the soft noises Chowder had made into his mouth. Dex didn't kiss anything like Chowder. His lips were less chapped, for one. But Nursey liked kissing Dex just as much. Again, he wondered how much Dex had enjoyed kissing Chowder, if Nursey compared at all or if they were in two different spheres entirely.   
  
Dex grunted, shifting against the wall, and Nursey brought his thoughts to the here and now. But he filed away the mental image of Chowder and Dex together for later. 

\----------

He wasn't supposed to see this. Even if Nursey and Dex were making out against the side of the Haus where anybody could see, it was a private moment. He tried to look away and found that he couldn't. Chowder's mouth had run dry.

It wasn't like they were being particularly _obscene_. Chowder had seen people make out against buildings before, especially now that he lived on a college campus. But watching the way Dex's hand tangled in Nursey's hair, the way Nursey gripped Dex's hip and pressed against him, the way Dex tilted his head up, open-mouthed, when Nursey started to nuzzle closer to his neck— it made Chowder's whole body tingle.

He really, really wasn't supposed to be watching this.

With less stealth than he wished he had, Chowder shuffled past them and into the Haus. He shut the door as quietly as he could. He could hear someone stomping around upstairs— Holster then, possibly with or without Ransom— but as far as he could tell, the first floor was clear.

Chowder was relieved to be alone when he threw himself on the couch. Nobody was there to tease him about how red his face was or how he couldn't pick his jaw up off the floor.

He had kissed Dex and Nursey both. It shouldn't have been so different to see them kiss each other. But instead that was part of the problem. Watching them, Chowder couldn't help but wonder about the differences. How exactly did Nursey kiss Dex that was different from how he kissed Chowder? Or vice versa? Had they been softer? Rougher? Had they held back when kissing him because it wasn't "the real deal"?

If they hadn't kissed during a practice run, would Nursey put his hands all over _Chowder_ like that? Lacking the self-restraint that came with experience, would Dex have gripped _him_ the way it looked like he gripped Nursey, hard enough to leave bruises?

The thoughts swirling in Chowder's head made something warm churn in his stomach.

The stomping around upstairs suddenly sounded a lot less like stomping around and a lot more like a bed squeaking. It made his breath catch. Outside, he was sure Nursey and Dex were still going at it.

Chowder carefully place his backpack over his lap and tried very hard not to think about it any further.

It didn't work.

\----------

Nursey usually kept his eyes closed when he was kissing someone. It helped him get lost in the experience, but he was still aware they were outside the Haus, in full view of anyone walking by. Especially in full view of the LAX  bros, who had recently taken up the habit of carrying around water balloons, which Nursey knew from Holster's constant ranting in the past week.

So even though he was having a _great_ time pressing Dex against the wall and kissing him senseless, he still made sure to open his eyes just enough to look around when he heard someone else approaching. 

It was a little hard to see through his eyelashes, but the body on the sidewalk was impossible to mistake. Chowder stood there, watching them, mouth open and cheeks pink.

Rather than chirp him or do something else sure to tease Chowder about his embarrassment, Nursey chose another route. For a reason his pleasure soaked brain couldn't fully fathom, Nursey ran his hand over Dex's side and gripped his hips through his jeans, keeping one eye on Chowder all the while. Dex, oblivious, whined into Nursey's mouth and shifted closer. He could see Chowder's eyes grow impossibly wider, even with the distance between them.

The sight made Nursey shiver and he broke away from Dex's hot mouth to trail kisses down his neck instead. He knew how to put on a show.

 _That_ broke Chowder out of whatever spell he was under. Within seconds, the goalie was past the porch and practically sprinting into the Haus. The click of the door closing made Dex pull away.

"Ch..." Dex started before he fully opened his eyes, and he was looking at Nursey again.

Whether Dex knew Chowder had passed by or if he was groaning the start of Chowder's name for another reason, Nursey didn't know. But he didn't mind at all.  

He placed his mouth by Dex's ear and whispered, "You want to get out of here?"

Dex snorted. "What movie did you get that line from?"

"I'm one hundred percent original."

"Originally lame, maybe."

\----------

They ended up back in Nursey's dorm since he knew his roommate would be gone for the rest of the evening. For once, Nursey was glad he had such a scattered roommate. His schedule left a lot of alone time in Nursey's life.

When Nursey unlocked the door and stepped through, Dex paused.

"Hey," he said. "I'm not sure if..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Nursey thought he got the idea. He made sure to look Dex in the eye when he said, seriously, "I don't want to do anything you don't want to."

"I knew that," Dex said, following him inside, but if he looked less tense than he had a minute ago, for once, Nursey didn't comment.

Dex ended up on top when they couldn't keep upright anymore. Nursey's back bounced against the mattress until Dex shuffled over and placed his hands on either side of Nursey's head. Nursey immediately wrapped his arms around Dex's neck.

"You like the view from up there?" He teased.

Even though it looked like he fought it with all his might, Dex couldn't keep down the upward tilt of his lips. "You could say that."

Nursey chuckled. Then Dex's mouth was on him and all his laughter was swallowed up.

Dex settled between his legs nicely and Nursey had no complaints, though he wasn't sure how far they were going today. As far or as little as Dex wanted, whatever that entailed. A small part of him was still giddy this was even happening, that he even had Dex back in his room, that Dex had agreed to go out in the first place. He nearly didn't believe it. He wanted to scream from the rooftop, but that wasn't very chill. He would settle for the soft noises Dex made instead.

Dex, who had sudden discovered that you could nibble on other parts of the body and how _very_ nice that felt. Dex bit the edge of his earlobe again. Nursey gasped right as Dex muttered something.

"Chow—"

"Chris—"

 _Oh_.

Dex pulled back, and they both stared at each other with wide eyes. Another person's name on their lips.

While Dex appeared too mortified to move, Nursey took a deep breath and blew it out as slowly as he could manage.

"Well, that happened," he said when it appeared Dex wasn't going to speak up first.

Nursey's voice seemed to make Dex unfreeze. Dex's head fell into the juncture of Nursey's shoulder as he said, "Okay, we probably need to talk about the kissing thing more than we did."

Nursey blew a lock of hair out of his eye. There was a water stain on his ceiling. "Probably."

\----------

There were in Chowder's bedroom again. Where everything had begun, Dex thought.  

Chowder had opened the door for them easily, though he was sure they were a sight to see— clothes ruffled, hair messy, neither of them directly looking at each other. Even Chowder had to guess what they had been doing.

Well, what they had been doing before they had to talk everything out like adults.

Man, communicating was hard. Dex was at least pretty sure he and Nursey were on the same page this time. He hoped.

God, he hoped.

"What's up, guys?" Chowder asked cheerfully, stepping back and letting them in. "I was just thinking about you!"

Dex nearly asked, _Thinking about us how?_ ,but the Nursey's elbow in his ribs kept that thought to himself. He scowled and tried to subtly step on Nursey's foot. Nursey dodged. Chowder noticed.

"Are you guys fighting?" He asked, frowning. "Dex, I thought you guys were going to talk more."

"Yeah, Dex," Nursey echoed, wearing a shit-eating grin. He was way too relaxed for what they were about to do. "I thought we were going to talk more."

"Shut the hell up," Dex said blandly, without looking at him. "We did talk."

"We should talk even more. About our feelings."

"Stop—"

"Guys, come on!" Chowder interrupted.

It was like Nursey was _trying_ to make this hard. Dex turned his head to scowl, but when he looked, Nursey's grin had melted into something much softer. It drained the anger out of him. He turned back to Chowder, steeling himself.

"Hey," Dex said, voice thick. He looked at Chowder, but he could feel Nursey's eyes on his own face as well. "The next time Nursey and I go out, you should come with us."

Nursey sucked in a sharp breath. Dex didn't look at him. Chowder frowned.

"Go out with you guys when you're on a date?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed. "But wouldn't I just be crashing your alone time?"

Dex reached out and tangled his fingers with Chowder's. Chowder didn't pull away. Dex really, really hoped he wasn't wrong.

"No," he corrected. "Like you're on a date too. With both of us."

Chowder's hand tightened in Dex's own and he made a noise like all the air had been knocked out of him. Maybe it had. Dex was finding it just as hard to breath while he waited for Chowder's answer.

"Date both of you?" Chowder repeated, eyes wide. He looked at Nursey for confirmation. "Like, for real?"

Dex glanced at Nursey as well, heart beating like a caged animal in his chest. It was all or nothing now.

Nursey smiled tenderly at both of them, so charming it looked like he had practiced it. Knowing Nursey, it was probably genuine, Dex thought. He wouldn't have believed it had it come from anyone else.

He watched as Nursey knocked a loosely closed fist against Chowder's bicep before grabbing Chowder's free hand. Dex liked the way they looked together, Chowder's paler, longer fingers contrasted against Nursey's darker, wider ones. He swallowed.

"Yeah," Nursey said. "For real."

And then, because Nursey was a dramatic idiot who had read too many romance novels, he leaned down and _kissed the back of Chowder's hand._ Like he was a prince or something. Dex and Chowder both stared, even as Nursey straightened and raised an eyebrow like he hadn't just pulled the most romantic nonsense Dex had ever seen in real life.

He dragged  his eyes away from Nursey's smug face and looked at Chowder instead.

Dex had never seen Chowder so thunderstruck, and that included the first time he realized he'd be playing hockey with _the_ Jack Zimmermann. The tips of Chowder's ears had gone pink. Dex liked it.

"O...Okay," Chowder said, his voice shaking only a little. His eyes drifted between Dex and Nursey's faces. A smile slowly bloomed over his own face, exposing the maroon rubber of his braces. Samwell colors. "That sounds good."

 _Good_ felt like an understatement, but Dex would take what he could get. At least until they were sure if this would work out or not.

"Does this mean I get to watch the next time you guys kiss?" Nursey said suddenly. Dex was pretty sure it was just to watch the two of them sputter and stare. Dex felt his skin heat up. Chowder's eyes grew large.

"You actually talked about—"

"Yes," Dex said quickly. He was pretty sure he was gripping Chowder's hand too hard, but he was too antsy to let go. "We had a very long, awkward talk about it that I don't want to repeat at the moment." He added, "But we're good."

He tried to step on Nursey's foot again, but Nursey sidestepped him without dropping Chowder's other hand, shrugging.

"I only brought it up since Chowder got to see the show we put on earlier—"

"He what?" Dex froze. He looked at Chowder. "You _saw_ that?"

"Uh."

"We're all coming clean here, so now is a good time to share anything you want, C," Nursey said. "Thoughts?"

Chowder looked at his feet, fidgeting. He grinned sheepishly.

"Uh." His confession came out in a rush. "It was pretty hot, sorry, I didn't mean to see but you guys were right there, sorry."

Nursey shrugged. "It's cool, man. I don't mind."

Chowder stole a quick glance at him. "You don't?"

Nursey winked at him. As Chowder's face somehow reddened even more, Dex dropped his hand and ran his through his hair.

"Alright, new rule," Dex said. "No more kissing or canoodling or whatever outside the Haus."

He ignored Chowder's "Aww" and the way Nursey mouthed _canoodle_ mockingly. Nobody outright protested. The Haus lawn was prime chirp territory for both the team and anybody else walking by. They were lucky it had only been Chowder who had seen.

"Can I still watch you guys kiss sometime?" Chowder asked.

Dex looked at him, and Chowder ducked his head. He couldn't believe Chowder even had to ask.

"C, you can do more than just watch," Nursey said.

The look on Chowder's face was priceless.

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is http://someobscurereference.tumblr.com/  
> Don't forget to comment here, but feel free to hit me up there for any reason if you want as well. Thanks for reading!
> 
>    
> EDIT: I felt kind of nervous about Nursey's characterization at some parts, but a few people have told me it's fine, so I'm deleting what note I had here. But! I super appreciate those of you who responded and told me it was fine! Thank you for your feedback!


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